An Afternoon Luncheon (edited version)
by Little Asian Girl
Summary: "What do you want Thor?" Loki decided not to waste energy looking up, continuing to stare at the pages of her book. "I'm offended, Princess, that you would mistake a handsome man like me for your brother." The familiar cockiness of the tone that was distinctly not her brother made her look up, surprised. (edited version) Genderbent Loki. One-shot only.


**An edit I decided to do after re-reading.**

 **Just going to elaborate and detail it. Yep.**

 **(You can still read the original, this is just an edit to amend my mistakes and add some more fluff and stuff :-)**

~o0o~

Thin ribbons of light streamed through the large windows in the library, that opened up to the palace gardens. Bright floral colors decorated the bushes and twirling vines outside, the buds reaching towards the afternoon sun. The scent of paper and ink mingled with the distinct smell of old books.

Loki yawned and stretched, catlike, being mindful of the large stack of books on the table. She smiled and sighed contently, placing a hand on her chin allowing a curtain of glossy black hair fall over part of her face. The musty pages of an old tome crackled as she turned the page. Loki had risen before the break of dawn, poring over ancient books and spells in the library. It was one of her favorite places in Asgard where she was able to study and practice magic in peace.

The library in question was enormous. Large ornate doors carefully crafted from tempered glass opened into the spacious main room. It had four floors with delicate spiraling steps, artfully lined with gold swirls. Arched windows overlooked the outside, one side facing the garden and the other facing an orchard of trees, which shone brightly between the stuffed shelves. The quiet turning of pages and the soft shuffling of others in the library was comforting, and not too overbearing. Loki's lips curved up, just thinking about it.

She loved the quiet, friendly silence of the library and its abundance of thick books. She preferred it over the loud clanging of metal in the dusty training grounds. Blinking, she returned returned to her book, snuggling into the sunlight. She was vaguely aware of the large glass doors gliding open, but she didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until a tall blond sat across from her that she bothered to say anything.

"What do you want Thor?" Loki decided not to waste energy looking up, continuing to stare at the pages of her book.

"I'm offended, Princess, that you would mistake a handsome man like me for your brother." The familiar cockiness of the tone that was distinctly _not_ her brother made her look up, surprised.

"Fandral?" Loki stared at him, quickly schooling her face into a mask of pale indifference. The blonde warrior grinned wolfishly, unfazed. She huffed, turning away. "I didn't expect you to be here." His smile grew wider and he winked.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I would have expected you to be with the other insufferable oafs, bumbling around aimlessly and attempting to shove each other tactlessly into the mud." She absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. If Fandral was bothered by her insults, he didn't show it, relaxing into his chair.

"Perhaps I only wished to see what you were up to, Princess." Loki clenched her hands on the table.

"I'm quite sure that most people go to the library to _read_ , Fandral." She said slouching over her book. Fandral chuckled and leaned forward to meet her eyes, his blonde hair falling perfectly in place. "And do not call me by that infernal name!"

"But that _is_ who you are, isn't it? Or would you prefer me to call you Silvertongue? The Trickster? Mi'lady?" She rolled her eyes, but he had a point. Those were all liable names.

"Not that my preference would matter in the least." Loki muttered combing her fingers through her hair.

(Although, she did not dislike the name as much as she proclaimed.)

It wasn't that she didn't like him. In fact, Fandral was the only one of Thor's friends whom she even held an ounce of respect for. He wasn't as much of an airhead as he let everyone think and he could be quite charming (More charming than she'd like to admit) when he wasn't such a flirtatious twit. Fandral, at least, could hold decent conversations _without_ swinging something sharp around.

"Enough with your silly games Fandral. What do you want?" Fandral stopped talking and stared at her. As the seconds dragged on, Loki began to shift nervously in her seat as Fandral's intense amber eyes bored into her skull. He inspected her face searching for something. She kept eye contact, not wanting to be the first to look away.

After several seconds of uncomfortable staring under his calculating gaze, Fandral asked, "Have you eaten anything at all today?"

"What?" The question caught her off guard. Now it was Fandral's turn to roll his eyes.

"Have you _eaten,_ _anything_ , at all, today." Fandral enunciated each word slowly and carefully, almost comically, as if Loki could not comprehend what he was saying. " Need I repeat myself again?" He looked at her innocently bringing his face closer.

She shoved a hand at his face not quite frowning, but not smiling either. "No." She said simply, not bothering to elaborate.

"You _do_ realize what time it is, do you?" She shrugged. It was only an hour or two after noon. The sun was still up, and by her standards, it was still relatively early. "At least come to the banquet hall and have _something._ "

"Why does it matter to you?" Loki smoothed her dark green tunic as if to busy herself.

"Eloquent as ever Loki." Fandral met her emerald eyes, "You didn't show for breakfast, nor did you show at noon."

"I don't need anything." Her stomach chose that moment to grumble. Loudly. She felt her cheeks heat up as Fandral delicately raised an eyebrow. "I'm _not_ hungry." Loki insisted. Her stomach gave another loud growl.

"No, you certainly aren't." He said dryly, sarcasm oozing from his voice. Loki cringed slightly at the reprimanding look he gave her, which strangely reminded her of her mother. His chair quietly scraped the smooth floor as he stood. Then he left without another word.

Loki blinked dumbly and stared at the spot Fandral had been sitting. She turned distractedly back to her book, brushing it off.

Not five minutes passed when the doors opened again, Loki, being preoccupied with her thoughts, ignored it.

At the sound of a tray being set down, she glanced up. Fandral appeared next to her, seeming extremely tall from the angle she was sitting, and pushed her book away.

"Eat, Loki." He casually gestured to the large silver tray, positively overflowing with various food items of all sorts. The fragrant aroma of sweetmeats and spiced breads wafted pleasantly around them. Loki looked at him incredulously, continuing to disregard the gnawing hunger in the presence of sustenance.

"Fandral! I can't possibly eat all that!" He chuckled, eyes filled with amusement.

"I'm not asking you to eat _all_ of it. Truth be told, it would be a miracle if you even ate half." He pulled a chair next to her. Loki stiffly turned to face him.

"Thank you Fandral, but I don't believe the librarian would-"

"Nonsense!" He smirked, showing his pearly white teeth. "You're _royalty,_ Loki. Your brother could barge in here shouting battle cries, and she wouldn't bat an eye. Although why your brother would come in here of his own will is a _complete_ mystery to me." Loki allowed herself a small smile.

"You wouldn't be the only one." She paused thinking. "Just let me finish this chapter and I'll be done."

Fandral nodded. "Alright, that sounds reasonable. How many pages more is it?" She shrugged.

"Only about," Loki lifted a portion of the book that was nearly half the length of her finger, "There's only about this much left." Fandral stared at her, unimpressed. Frowning, he carefully moved her hands off the book, marking the page with a paper.

"Eat. Now Princess." He commanded, completely serious. She huffed indignantly, holding her head high.

"I don't-Mmmph!" Whatever Loki was about to say was cut off abruptly as Fandral gently (but firmly) shoved a forkful of meat pastry in her mouth. The savory spices of the meat mingled with the wonderfully flakey pastry in an enticing combination. It must have shown on her face because Fandral eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Not hungry did you say?"

"Mmm." She swirled the flavors in her mouth and hummed blissfully, licking her lips.

"Now," Fandral continued, "You have two options, Loki. You can sit here and eat, _willingly,_ or I can make you sit here until I've felt you've had a _somewhat_ decent amount of food."

"Fandral," she started, "You really don't need to-" Fandral lifted the fork threateningly.

"I will do what _I_ think is in the best interest for your health. Now what say you?"

"I'll eat." She said hastily as Fandral brought the fork closer to her face. After another moment of scrutinizing, he passed her the plate and she took it. Loki sat there, holding the plate awkwardly as Fandral waited. Watching her. In silence.

"Thank you." She smiled in a way that she hoped looked grateful. Fandral waved it away.

"Tis' my duty to make sure you eat, seeing as you _yourself_ don't pay mind to things such as that." Loki pushed the food around her plate. He watched her fiddle with the fork. "Odin's beard Loki! I haven't poisoned it!"

"I know!" She gazed out the window at the trees, "It's just…" She trailed off pursing her lips.

Fandral sighed impatiently and plucked a grape off the tray, popping it in his mouth.

"What?" He shrugged, "It's not as if you are going to finish it all." He looked at Loki pointedly, silently telling her to _just eat something before he made her eat._

Loki hesitantly nibbled at the food, lasting only a moment before she gave in, eating forkfuls of the pastry, realizing _how_ hungry she really was.

"You really should eat more." Fandral said handing her a cup of warm tea. Loki's slender fingers brushed against his, leaving a puzzling tingling sensation. She cupped her fingers around the cup, relishing in the warmth, as Fandral sipped his own cup. "You were beginning to look like a starved cow."

"Starve c-I'll have you know I am a _Princess._ "

"So you are." He laughed teasingly. They lapsed into companionable silence, save for the gentle clinking of silverware in the otherwise still environment.

Gently setting down the still-warm cup, she glanced at Fandral from the corner of her eye. He sat there calmly observing the library while drumming his fingers on the table. The sun shone on his golden hair, complimenting his eyes. An odd feeling fluttered in her stomach as he met her gaze.

She snapped out of her reverie as the library doors burst open.

"Fandral! There you are!" A thundering voice disrupted the quiet that had been present all the morning. Thor strode towards their table covered in sweat and grime. "What have you in a place like this?" Hogun, Volstagg and Sif trailed behind him; the first looking less than pleased, and the latter two with a peculiar expression settled on their faces.

Loki quickly stood and collected her books as Fandral quickly gathered the cups and plates.

"Oh, hello Loki." Thor nodded to his sister who frowned, but nodded to her brother. Clapping his hand on his Fandral's shoulder, he added, "We were about to have another spar. Care to join us?"

Fandral shrugged carelessly.

"I suppose." He drawled. "Just allow me to tidy up." Loki shifted on her feet and began to guiltily edge away. (For whatever reason she did not know)

"I'll take my leave," She smiled at Fandral and was about to turn, but he caught her hand gently. Fandral's hand was a bit larger than hers, but they were soft, and Loki's hand fit comfortably in his. The fluttering feeling came back with a vengeance. Ignoring Hogun's hard glare and Thor's quizzical look, Loki paused briefly.

"Why don't you join us? Just this once?" He offered warmly. Loki's smile grew just a tiny bit wider.

"Thank you for offering, but I have some... studies… I need to finish. Perhaps another time?" Fandral smirked.

"I suppose I'll have to hold you to that, Princess." She twitched at the nickname, but her lips curved up.

"Whatever you say, Fandral." Loki disentangled their hands and collected her books slipping away without as much as a word to the others.

"You two are quite a sight to behold," She heard Volstagg coo, which probably earned him a sharp elbow (Sif most likely) judging from the disgruntled complaint afterwards.

She exited the library, feeling the sun's warm rays reach her pale skin. Loki inhaled the fresh air outside.

Her day had taken an unexpectedly delightful twist she thought, walking towards the castle's large corridors, and in truth, it really wasn't half bad.

~o0o~

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Reviews are appreciated! ^o^**


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